Safe and Sound

The First National Bank of Hartford

Hartford, WI

4

Star Rating

The First National Bank of Hartford is an FDIC-insured bank founded in 1907 and currently based in Hartford, WI. As of December 31, 2017, the bank held equity of $24.0 million on $200.3 million in assets.

Thanks to the work of 54 full-time employees in 3 offices in WI, the bank holds loans and leases worth $131.1 million, $112.1 million of which are for real estate. U.S. bank customers currently have $175.7 million in deposits with the bank.

Overall, Bankrate believes that, as of December 31, 2017, The First National Bank of Hartford exhibited a good condition, earning 4 out of 5 stars for safety and soundness. Keep reading for a look at how the bank did on the three major criteria Bankrate used to evaluate U.S. banks.

THE INSTITUTION'S SCORE

Capital Score

Capital is a valuable measurement of an institution's financial resilience. It acts as a cushion against losses and provides protection for depositors when a bank is struggling financially. From a safety and soundness perspective, more capital is better.

On our test to measure the adequacy of a bank's capital, The First National Bank of Hartford scored 14 out of a possible 30 points, beating out the national average of 13.13.

One way to measure this buffer is looking at a bank's Tier 1 capital ratio. The First National Bank of Hartford's Tier 1 capital ratio was 16.56 percent, above the 6 percent level considered adequate by regulators, but lower than the national average of 25.65 percent. A higher capital ratio suggests the bank will be better able to weather financial downturns.

Overall, The First National Bank of Hartford held equity amounting to 11.99 percent of its assets, which was lower than the national average of 12.03 percent.

Asset Quality Score

In this test, Bankrate tries to determine the effect of troubled assets, such as unpaid mortgages, on the bank's capitalization and allocated loan loss reserves.

Having a large number of these types of assets could eventually force a bank to use capital to cover losses, reducing its equity buffer. Many of those assets are also likely to be in non-accrual status and no longer earning interest for the bank, resulting in depressed earnings and potentially more risk of a future failure.

The First National Bank of Hartford scored above the national average of 37.49 on Bankrate's asset quality test, racking up 40 out of a possible 40 points .

The percentage of problem assets a bank holds compared to its total assets is a helpful indicator of asset quality.As of December 31, 2017, 0.13 percent of The First National Bank of Hartford's loans were noncurrent, meaning they were more than 90 days past due or were in non-accrual status. That's below the national average of 1.01 percent.

Banks keep a reserve to handle problem assets known as an "allowance for loan and lease losses." That reserve's size can be a widely used indicator when evaluating a bank's ability to manage troubled assets, especially when compared to the total amount of problem loans. Unfortunately, the FDIC did not provide information on The First National Bank of Hartford's loan loss allowance in its most recent filings.

Earnings score

How profitable a bank is affects its long-term survivability. A bank can retain its earnings, giving a boost to its capital buffer, or use them to deal with problematic loans, likely making the bank better able to withstand financial trouble. However, banks that are losing money are less able to do those things.

On Bankrate's test of earnings, The First National Bank of Hartford scored 14 out of a possible 30, coming in below the national average of 15.12.

Return on equity, calculated by dividing net income (profit, essentially) by total equity, is one important way to measure a bank's earnings. The most recent annualized quarterly return on equity for The First National Bank of Hartford was 6.17 percent, below the national average of 8.10 percent.

The bank reported net income of $1.4 million on total equity of $24.0 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017. The bank experienced an annualized return on average assets, or ROA, of 0.74 percent, below the 1 percent deemed satisfactory in accordance with industry standards and below the average for U.S. banks of 1.00 percent.

Bankrate.com's Safe & Sound Ratings provide a star rating system to evaluate the current financial status of financial institutions. The information gathered about banks, credit unions and thrifts is updated as set forth in the Terms of Use of Safe & Sound Ratings and Reports. The Safe & Sound Ratings information is grouped by categories of banks, thrifts and credit unions.

Scoring methodology

Bankrate.com evaluates the financial condition of institutions and assigns a one- to five-star rating for each with five stars representing the highest rating. Institutions with satisfactory performance will generally receive a rating of three or more stars. The majority of institutions fall into the three- to four-star range. An institution with an "NR" rating may be too new to rate or may have limited the publicly available information in their regulatory filings. The "NR" is not an indication of financial strength or weakness. The Safe & Sound rating is believed to be reliable, but the information is not guaranteed. In addition, events since the information was collected may have altered the institution's financial condition.

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